Halladay, Lee and Lackey close to joining new teams
By the end of the day, three of the game’s top pitchers could find themselves on new teams for 2010.
Putting aside the rumors of a three-way trade involving BOTH Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, as well as multiple reports that John Lackey will soon sign a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox, we pose a simple question to fantasy owners:
Which pitcher would you want most on your fantasy keeper team?
Roy Halladay is the oldest of the group at 32. The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner has a 148-76 career record (.661) and 3.43 ERA. He is coming off a 17-10 season with the Blue Jays. But he seems to be pitching better now than he has at any point during his career. He’s racked up over 200 strikeouts in each of the past two seasons and has led the AL in K/BB ratio at 5.28 and 5.94.
(Fantasy spin: If Halladay goes to the Phillies, he’ll have a tremendous offense behind him — and he’ll enjoy the benefits of pitching in the National League. In Philly, he’ll rival Tim Lincecum as the NL’s best pitcher.)
Cliff Lee won the AL Cy Young Award when he went 22-3 for Cleveland in 2008 and he was a key component in the Philadelphia Phillies’ repeat as National League champions in 2009. Lee was the victim of limited run support in Cleveland before being dealt to the Phils at the trade deadline, but he managed to finish with a combined 14-13 record and 3.22 ERA. In eight seasons, the 31-year-old Lee has a 90-52 mark (.634) and a 3.97 ERA.
(Fantasy spin: If Lee goes to Seattle, he’ll join a team that emphasizes speed and defense. That should minimize the damage of moving from the NL to the AL. Plus, Safeco Field is one of the league’s best pitcher’s parks and is very tough on right-handed batters. Lee would be among the top six or seven starters in AL-only leagues. He would become Seattle’s No. 2 starter behind Felix Hernandez.)
John Lackey just turned 31 in October and is the only one of the three to have a World Series ring. He’s had some physical problems each of the past two seasons, but he’s overcome them to post double-digit wins for seven straight years. He was 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 2009 and owns career marks of 102-71 (.590) and 3.81. Lackey is the consensus choice as the top pitcher on the free agent market this winter.
(Fantasy spin: If Lackey is signed by Boston, he would not be changing leagues and would still have a powerful offense behind him. The Angels finished second in the majors in scoring; the Red Sox finished third. The big advantage for Lackey is that he would become the team’s No. 3 starter behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.)
Keep in mind that any trade involving players as talented as Halladay and Lee would have to include some top-notch young prospects going to the Blue Jays. Among those mentioned as possibilities: Seattle pitcher Philippe Aumont and Philadelphia outfielder Michael Taylor.
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